This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for driving revolving flats of a carding machine. The apparatus includes a drive gear which rotates the flat driving wheels and which is mounted on the carding machine.
In the manufacture of combed yarns, the short fibers are removed by a combing machine which is situated between a carding machine and a drawing frame. The combing machine can be assisted by removing a large proportion of the flat strips in the carding machine. The flat strips which are removed at the discharge side (front side) of the carding machine from the flat chain traveling with the carding cylinder, is substantially cleaner in appearance than the flat strips removed at the licker-in side (rear side) of the carding machine from the flats, when the latter slowly move in a direction opposite to that of the carding cylinder. It is a disadvantage of the prior art arrangement that the flats cannot be made to run in the opposite direction on short notice. In known carding machines, for running the flats in the opposite direction, all components of the revolving flats, that is, a great number of driving elements, guiding elements and deflecting elements have to be disassembled and then reassembled which is very time-consuming and thus a prompt reversal of the revolving direction of the flats is not feasible.